What is it, not from a boat.

[bletso]

A friend brought this from his father's estate. I am at a loss. There is a wick attached to the nozzle.

[CaptTom]

Just a wild guess. Could you put water and calcium carbide in it to make an acetylene torch?

[sailor_ed]

It's an alcohol torch.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/mode...ol-t36615.html

[bletso]

Sailor ED,

THANK YOU. Pretty cool

[StuM]

Originally Posted by sailor_ed

It's an alcohol torch.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/mode...ol-t36615.html

Great link!

That's my "learn something new every day" achieved for today and it's still early morning.

[sy_gilana]

Wow! I used to have one of those...

[CaptTom]

Thanks! Love learning about these old tools. Simple, elegant solutions.

And hey, I was half right.

[FionaJC]

Oh Wow, If I see one of those about I'm buying it, then I will play "guess what it is" at the pub. Should pass some enjoyable time and pay for its purchase.

[roland stockham]

Or it may be a beekeepers smoker.

[Eigenvector]

Since we're playing what it is: A friend brought this over. I knew what it was but have never seen one used and for what.

Hint: The wood handle is missing on the right.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Eigenvector

Since we're playing what it is: A friend brought this over. I knew what it was but have never seen one used and for what.

Hint: The wood handle is missing on the right.

Soldering iron. Clean the tip with something abrasive, Add the wood handle, heat the tip using a stove, campfire, torch, exhaust manifold of your car, etc. Tin the tip with a little solder then go join pieces of copper together.

I've actually used one on occasion when it was the only soldering tool at hand. They work OK. Usually there are several in an old-time electrician's tool box so that a hot one can be pulled off the stove for each joint.

[Eigenvector]

So for soldering pipe and other big stuff? Nobody ever soldered wire with that big head did they? I would take 12" of solder just to tin the end.

[Jammer]

Of olden time, before there were wire nuts (let alone crimp splices), connections between wires were soldered. For a while my family had a cabin, that was built in 1923 and wired in about 1940. There were screw terminals on the switches and outlets, but joints between wires were twisted, soldered, wrapped in butyl rubber tape, and then wrapped in friction tape.

Since the old-time soldering irons had to store enough heat to make a joint, they were larger than the electrically heated soldering irons of today. The one in the photo is about the right size for most building wiring, 14 gauge on up to 10 gauge or so. They aren't huge. The tip on my (relatively new) 300 watt soldering iron is roughly the same size.

They were also used for soldering sheets of tinplated steel together, or sheets of copper.

Copper pipe was not in widespread use at that point in history. Everyone used steel.